Toast rack



June 2, 1953 E. A. FARR 2,640,600

TOAST RACK Filed July 22, 1949 13 a I JNVENTOR.

Patented June 2, 1953 TOAST RACK Edward A. Farr, Columbus, Ind., assignor to Arvin Industries, Inc., a corporation of Indiana Application July 22, 1949, Serial N 0. 106,273

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a device for keeping toast warm after it has been toasted in an elec tric toaster. It is the object of the invention to produce such a device which can be simply and economically manufactured and readily attached to or removed from an electric toaster.

A common form of electric toaster intended for domestic us is adapted for the toasting of two slices of bread simultaneously and is provided with a housing or casing having in its top a pair of parallel slots through which the bread slices to be toasted are inserted. In incorporating my invention in a toaster of that type, I employ a frame conveniently made of wire and having a toast-supporting upper portion and two legs depending from the end thereof. At the foot of each leg the latter is formed with a, pair of opposed hook-lik portions which can be separated'and inserted respectively into the breadreceiving slots of the toaster-casing, the resilience of the frame causing the two hook-like portions to engage the sides of the bread slots and support the device. v

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toast rack removed from association with a toaster; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the lin 22 of Fig. 3 showing the warmer applied to a toaster; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 33 of the Fig. 2.

The device illustrated in the drawing comprises a pair of identical wires each formed to provide an elevated portion of a general U-shape having an intermediate portion I and parallel end portions II. Each end portion II is continuous with a downwardly extending leg-forming portion I2 generally perpendicular to the plane of the topforming portions I0I I. Near its bottom, each leg-forming portion I2 is bent to provide a hook I3.

To complete a toast-warming device two of the wires formed as above described are placed in opposed relation as shown in Fig. 1, and the two adjacent legs I2 are secured together near their upper ends, as by the spot welding I4 indicated in the drawing. In this condition, the intermediate portions I0 and the end portions II of each wire are co-planar and form, in effect, an open frame capable of supporting one or more slices of toast in horizontal position. The legs I2 extend downwardly in close parallel relation with the hooks at their lower ends opening toward each other.

A toaster suitable for use with the warmer illustrated includes a casing I6 having in its upper wall I1 a pair of slots I8 through which bread slices may be inserted to be toasted. In applying the warmer to the toaster, the hooks I3 in each end of the warmer are separated and inserted through the slots I8, as will be clear from Fig. 3. The hooks are so proportioned that the strip I 9 of casing-metal between the slots I8 will prevent the leg-forming wire-portions 52 from returning to their normal parallel relation illustrated in Fig. 1. As a result, the hooks resiliently grip the sides of the strip I9 and hold the toast-supporting portion I0II of the warmer in a horizontal position above the top of the toaster.

The legs I2 are made long enough so that the warmer-portion I0II or any toast supported thereon does not interfere with the insertion of bread or removal of toast through the slots I8. Desirably, the wires constituting the warmer are so shaped that th distance between the lower ends of the legs I 2I2 is normally somewhat greater than the length of the slots I8. As. a result, the legs I2I2 will be bent inwardly toward each other somewhat, as indicated in Fig. 2, when the warmer is in place. This bending of the legs toward each other holds the warmer in fixed position longitudinally of the slots I8 while the separation of the leg-forming portions I2 of each leg locates the warmer transversely of the slots.

To facilitate application of the warmer to the toaster, the extreme ends of the wires may be bent, as indicated at I3 in Figs. 1 and 3, to diverge downwardly with respect to each other. The upper side 20 of each hook desirably conforms to the cross-sectional shape of the strip I9 in order to provid a more stable support for the warmer.

I claim as my invention:

A toast rack, comprising two similarly shaped resilient wires each bent to provide an upper portion having a side and two ends, the two ends being bent to provide downwardly extending portions, the two wires being placed with their upper portions coplanar and with the downwardly extending portions juxtaposed in pairs, the downwardly extending portions of each pair being secured together adjacent their upper ends and being provided at their lower ends with opposed hooks.

EDWARD A. FARR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 354,261 Smith Dec. 14, 1886 759,025 Schiele May 3, 1904 846,911 Crump Mar. 12, 1907 1,714,536 Wooderson May 28, 1929 1,734,532 Sacerdote Nov. 5, 1929 2,315,271 Porter Mar. 30, 1943 2,493,222 Braucht Jan. 3, 1950 

